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Payrolls grew at the fastest pace since 2015 in March as transportation and logistics companies added almost 10,000 jobs to keep pace with the flourishing shipping market. The Labor Department reported that the trucking sector alone added 6,700 workers in March rounding out the first quarter hires to 18,500: the strongest quarterly growth in trucking since 2012.

High freight demand keeps trucking in heavy demand with the continuous growth of e-commerce retail sales and hard enforcement of the ELD mandate has led to fleets adding drivers at a faster rate.

FTR transportation research firm analyst, Avery Vise, shared that “Transportation providers and warehousers are doing what they have to do just to meet the demand, they’re scrambling to fill positions that are needed just to keep the economy moving.”

Adding to the pressure of rising fuel prices and the mounting driver shortage, fleets are raising pay to attract more drivers which causes cost increase for customers. Freight costs to ship have affected the bottom line for many manufacturers and advances the dilemma of raising consumer prices to cover the cost of shipping. According to Reuters, interview with ten executives from food, consumer goods, and commodities sectors revealed the harsh difficulty of protecting profit margins as costs nearly double the inflation rate.

If you took a peek into Constance Salters’ schedule, it’s unlikely you’d find much free time. An Account Manager for Centerline for the past nine years, she embodies the words “leader”, “teacher”, “salesperson”, “supermom”, and “strong”. Constance continues to evolve in her role while building the relationships that mean the most to her at work: those with drivers and customers.

Originally educated as a teacher, Constance found that her skills were more suited towards sales. After working in sales with a company that thrived during her employment, she decided it was time for something new. She secured a new position as a Recruiter where she quickly became a market manager and eventually joined Centerline when they acquired the previous company as part of the transition. During this transition, Constance moved into her place as an Account Manager – where she now trains new Account Managers as they join the team. She recognizes that this is a strong match for her because she finds such immense satisfaction in the connections she builds with clients, based on respect, dignity, and integrity.

Although Constance decided to leave scholastic teaching behind, she practices her skills in educating the trucking and staffing industry. Using proven methods, she works with new Account Managers to grow their business and learn the process. She takes pride in seeing the success of trainees as they embark on their own and has found that the best way to learn is to listen intently.

Constance has a rare skill of maintaining a positive attitude – even when faced with extremely difficult circumstances. Diagnosed with cancer, she powered through her sickness and believes that the experience made her more resilient.

A member of the Women in Leadership Council within TrueBlue, Troop Leader to two Girl Scout troops, and homeroom mom – Constance is prized for her crucial role in many places, including Centerline – where her smile and encouraging outlook make a difference, daily.

The contentious ELD mandate goes into hard enforcement April 1st – are fleets prepared for the regulation shift? Only a few days before full regulation, compliance rates hover around 92%. The remaining percentage of drivers out of compliance after April 1st could be officially placed out of service for ten hours, with potential additional consequences including not being allowed to dispatch again until an ELD is implemented.

During the Mid-America Trucking Show, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Office of Compliance and Enforcement Director, Joe DeLorenzo, shared what truckers should be expecting after the first of April and what they ought to be doing before. DeLorenzo advised truckers to consider all of the aspects of compliance, as ELDs are ultimately purposed for tracking hours of service. Some main points to remember:

The ELD device’s user manual (paper or electronic) must be on board

Instruction sheet for date of transfer must be on board

ELD malfunction instruction sheet must be on board

If an ELD malfunctions, drivers have eight days to utilize paper logs

If stopped during an inspection, drivers should cooperate with the officer when hours-of-service data is requested

Drivers can utilize the built-in function for personal conveyance, found under special driving categories

Don’t forget to log out

While many are wary about the new rule, the vast majority of owner-operators are equipped for the mandate. It is a carrier’s responsibility to help prepare their drivers for training to lower stress and best transition into the new era of ELDs.

On March 18th a self-driving Uber fatally struck pedestrian, Elaine Herzberg, in Tempe, AZ. Around 10 pm, she was crossing the street with her bicycle when hit by the Volvo XC90 SUV at approximately 40 miles per hour. Since the accident, Uber has pulled their self-driving vehicles off public roads in the greater Phoenix area, San Francisco, Toronto, and Pittsburgh. Tempe’s mayor, Mark Mitchell, called Uber’s decision to suspend autonomous testing a “responsible step”.

The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dispatched a team of four specialized investigators to evaluate “the vehicle’s interaction with the environment, other vehicles and vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists.” The organization seldom opens highway investigations but are particularly alert to incidents involving autonomous and partially autonomous vehicles.

Tempe Police Chief, Sylvia Moir, said in an interview that “it’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode (autonomous or human-driven) based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway.” Not all are convinced. Senator Edward Markey, a member of the transportation committee, stated “This tragic accident underscores why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and deploying autonomous vehicle technologies on public roads.”

Examination of the construct of self-driving cars show that autonomous vehicles are overall built like a regular car, only equipped with sensors (GPS, lidar, cameras) which transmit information to the car’s internal computer system. The sensors use minute GPS measurements compiled by nearby satellites to determine the route, behavior, and actions. However, technology has failed in several instances, gradually bringing awareness to the general public. It seems that lawmakers, manufacturers, advocacy groups and industry analysts agree that much work is to be done before autonomous becomes the norm.

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has released a short online survey hoping to capture feedback from carriers on how the upsurge of e-commerce usage has effected industry business models and operations.

Known widely as the “Amazon effect”, the influx of consumers taking advantage of fast, free shipping has disrupted the retail industry in relation to brick and mortar stores, with online sales up 12 points from previous year to 97 percent from a United Postal Service study in 2017. In addition to the changing landscape in retail, the types of shipping services have shifted with more distribution centers popping up on the landscape to fulfill orders quickly. Last mile delivery, or final mile delivery, is increasing the need for more concentrated last-mile logistics and further partnership with “white glove” services.

The survey insights combined with an “extensive executive analysis of emerging e-commerce trends” will provide awareness into how the industry has responded to fundamental shifts in the relationships between consumers, logistics, and businesses. Motor carriers are urged to provide data, confidentially, through the survey through April 6th, 2018 and will be eligible for entry into a raffle for one of five $100 gift cards and access to an advance copy of the Impacts of E-Commerce on the Trucking Industry report. The survey may be taken here.

Raymond P. Martinez was officially sworn in as the sixth Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) by U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, Wednesday, March 1st. Selected by President Trump in 2017 to head the agency, Martinez has most recently served as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s Chairman and Chief Administrator and is former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles and also served at the U.S. Department of State.

Chao said, “Ray’s years of experience promoting traffic safety at the state level, as well as his knowledge of the commercial motor vehicle industry, will help FMCSA fulfill its critical mission of improving truck and bus safety.”

“It's an honor and privilege to serve my fellow Americans in this capacity and, under Secretary Chao's leadership, I look forward to working with all commercial vehicle stakeholders to effectively reduce the number of truck and bus crashes on our nation’s roads,” said Martinez.

In a comprehensive report, the Associated Press (AP) detailed how a number of safety rules affecting transportation have been halted or removed by President Trump, under the premise that they hurt the economy. In the analysis, at least 12 safety rules that were in process or implemented have been withdrawn, postponed, or repealed since the Trump administration took control.

A rule requiring new heavy trucks to implement potentially life-saving software that would electronically limit speeds has been delayed indefinitely. Other regulations demanding states conduct annual inspections of commercial bus operators, railroads to operate trains with at least two crew members, and automakers to equip future cars and light trucks with vehicle-to-vehicle communications to prevent collisions have also been placed on the back burner or removed. Several of the dozen rules were prompted by fatal events. John Risch, a national legislative director for the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers said, “These rules have been written in blood…we’re in a new era now of little-to-no regulations no matter how beneficial they might be. The focus is what can we repeal and rescind.”

The Transportation Department believe regulations impose “unnecessarily high economic costs” and that they can eliminate regulations without undermining safety. This stance contradicts a DOT study from 2016 showing that trucks equipped with speed-limiting software could save as many as 498 lives per annum and produce a net cost savings to society ranging from $475 million to $5 billion, depending on the top speed the government chose.

In 2013, a New York commuter train derailed while speeding around a curve killing four. Investigations into the crash found that the engineer had undiagnosed sleep apnea, likely causing him to fall asleep while conducting. According to the Associated Press, “The National Transportation Safety Board has cited sleep apnea as a cause of 13 rail and highway accidents it has investigated”. In the summer of 2017, the DOT withdrew movement towards a rule requiring engineers, truck drivers, and bus drivers to undergo sleep apnea screening.

The AP explained, “There is a longstanding requirement that major federal regulations undergo detailed cost-benefit analyses before they can become final. Even rules expected to save lives are weighed against their economic cost. DOT assigns a value of $9.6 million per life saved in its analyses.” The White House acknowledged that focus is on cost to industry and calculations of savings do not take into account non-fiscal benefits that the regulations produce.

If anyone knows the importance of people skills, it’s James Pearson. Hailing from the Stockton, California market, James is a revered military veteran and recruiting manager that his team at Centerline truly appreciates. Whether solving a work problem or matching a driver with a customer, he takes the time to create relationships wherever he goes.

The military helped James learn how to best interact with those around him and to have honest, meaningful conversations. Those lessons followed him into the recruiting field where his personable nature made him a perfect fit. He honors the drivers he engages with by working with them through the thick and thin, sometimes years, until he finds them a strong fit in a position they feel good about. James aims to establish a level of trust with the candidates he interfaces with andto coach them through the entire hiring process if possible.

James likes to speak with drivers, preferring to sit down over a sandwich to talk about what each of them are looking for in their work and how he can guide them towards their goals. He continues to follow up with drivers for special events such as birthdays and anniversaries and praises those who show excellence in safety. When asked what gives him a sense of fulfillment at work he shared, “simply put, it is putting people to work every day.”

James shared that working with the area’s account manager, Scott Anderson, is wonderful and calls him his “partner in crime”. Their team dynamic has led them to great relationships with customers in both a business and personal capacity. James appreciates that at Centerline, there is a wide network of people he can turn to for assistance and that everyone is always willing to lend a helping hand.

All while James continues to find drivers work, he coaches basketball, plays the organ at church on Sundays, and spends time with family, his pride and joy. Committed to his community and career and showing his readiness to work as a team, James offers a piece of advice to his fellow recruiters, saying “you’ve got to be patient, well organized, and take it one day at a time.”

Bob Costello, American Trucking Associations Chief Economist, recently shared at the annual National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO) convention that the freight market is at its most robust since deregulation in the 1980s. Subjective fleet reports show that January was one of the best starts to a year as the U.S. market heats up.

“Factory output, we went from very soft factory growth to last year it grew of about 1.5%. This year and next year I think it’ll be 3% to 3.5%. The three major buckets of freight are all doing well right now,” said Costello. He believes that the Jobs Act and Tax Cuts will usher more buyers to spend on nondurable goods and that with this, for-hire fleets to transport the goods will increase.

Still, while truckload volumes increased, mileage remained stagnant- likely due to regional distribution networks delivering e-commerce orders. Costello remains positive in his outlook explaining “If you look at the retail supply chain, in 2000, you had big box retailers working out of a handful of distribution centers (DCS). But by 2017 each of them had dozens of DCs all over the country”, adding that “we’re seeing a shift to more regional operations. But less miles means more trucks will be needed, so eventually, that will increase mileage. We’ll see it go back up as more trucks get on the road.”

One of Embark’s doctored Peterbilt rigs- christened “Big Blue”- made a successful five day trip from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida. This was the first automated vehicle to make the coast-to-coast 2,400 mile trip across the Southern United States.

The truck’s system utilized Level 2 automation, with a driver required to monitor the truck actively and be prepared to take over if necessary. Embark CEO, Alex Rodrigues, shared with TechCrunch that the driver is responsible for being attentive and to ensure safety, but that they may go miles down the road without the necessity of being involved.

Rodrigues expanded that they aim to develop the truck’s technology to reach Level 4 automation, where a vehicle can operate without human input or oversight, including when a driver doesn’t respond appropriately to requests to intervene. Rodrigues explained that their goal isn’t to replace drivers with automation, but to make it possible for truckers to cover long routes and make more deliveries in less time. The trucks requiring less management by fewer drivers may also address the existing driver shortage.

Embark’s technology uses machine learning software and data from the on-board “sensor-suite” which uses five cameras, three long-range radars and at least two light detection and ranging sensors to gauge surroundings in real-time. Embark has raised $17.2 million in venture funding since its founding in 2016 and Rodrigues hopes that by the end of the year, Embark will have 40 trucks prepared for its fleet.

Victoria Salamanca welcomes a challenge, particularly when it comes to her work life. A vital part of the Centerline team and based in Kansas, Victoria helps dispatch drivers for recruiters in the Southeast part of the country and has made an impact not to be forgotten.

After spending six years working for the County Prison system running the inmate’s commissary account, she had grown a necessary thick skin and was ready for a new challenge. Victoria found that her interest was dwindling in her position at the prison and was ready for growth and new opportunity. After years of repetitive work, she went out searching for a new career and found her place with the Centerline team.

Brand new to the trucking industry, Victoria leaned on colleagues like Sheila Castaneda to familiarize her with the business. She would spend hours studying a book of DOT rules and regulations and mastering UltraStaff for ultimate productivity. She was determined to get up to speed quickly so that she could put as many people to work as possible. Learning the language of the industry came naturally as the days came and went. Victoria shared that an important, wonderful part of Service is that it resembles a family; everyone is willing to help one another. She also mentioned that Centerline’s Service is full of seasoned teammates with reserves of industry knowledge- so support and training is not difficult to come by. Together, they make a strong Service group.

Victoria’s days begin with an essential cup of coffee and a healthy dose of optimism: she puts on her best and finds a positive mindset, knowing that these simple actions help prevent frustration and negative feelings when difficult situations arise. She’ll make personal calls to drivers and customers to ensure that drivers are happy on their assignments and customers’ needs are well taken care of. There are unique fires that come up daily and Victoria relishes the feeling of maintaining control in a constantly shifting landscape by providing solutions to problems. She finds that the perpetual change prevents stagnation day-to-day and appreciates the opportunity to put her problem-solving skills to use.

Working remotely means a great deal to Victoria, as this allows her to be in close proximity to her mother. When Victoria was originally stationed in Southern California, she found that being away from her family was challenging. The opportunity to continue to work with Centerline while fulfilling her personal needs is of utmost value to her and she expresses true gratitude for this ability. Victoria’s parents are her motivation and inspiration and she attributes her success to them teaching her how to be a strong forerunner, how to work hard, and being dedicated in all that she does. She strives to be a living example of the values her mother and father taught her and hopes to carry on their legacy. While Victoria was growing up, they provided for her and she hopes to do justice to their hard work and sacrifice by succeeding in her own endeavors. All who have the chance to work with Victoria can attest to the devoted effort she puts forth now and can all agree that her parents would be proud of the leader she has become.

Analysts at FTR Transportation Intelligence expressed their outlook on trucking for the coming year in their series of webinars “State of Freight: Trucking Outlook”. Avery Vise, FTR Vice President of Research, shared in the series that conditions in the marketplace are likely to result in necessary driver wage increases.

As contract rates paid by shippers to carriers begin to “creep higher” and spot freight market grows, rates have broken records in the first weeks of the year and the overall condition of the trucking industry has improved. Vise sees inflating sign-on bonuses and pay raises pointing to “cost pressure” that motor carriers may experience as they continue to hire drivers. Healthy trucking conditions including truck rates of revenue per mile, spot and contract point to the need for increased driver wages, higher fuel and equipment costs.

The driver shortage only continues to worsen as ELDs seemingly begin to cause drivers to leave the industry. Vise said “trades that compete with trucking are doing well” as construction and manufacturing grow countrywide and truckers are beginning to ask “wait a minute, what about us? … Ok, corporate America, this is what you asked for. Now it’s time to give back.” Drivers expect higher incentives to get behind the wheel with an evolving landscape including the shortage, autonomous vehicles, and competing industries. With these impending increases, carriers are appraising budgets and taking into account the necessities for their operations to accommodate the shifting state of freight.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced the request for industry input to fast-track the deployment of autonomous vehicles- including passenger cars, trucks, and buses. Regulators aim to collect information from developers, end users, and the general public to produce the updated Federal Automated Vehicle Policy 3.0 as named by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

Last year, the DOT shared new framework created to make way for driverless vehicles, working around efforts from the Obama Administration. Chao said that “autonomous vehicle technologies will have a tremendous impact on society in terms of safety, mobility, and security” and that “policy makers need to preserve the creativity and innovation that is part of the American tradition and allow innovation to flourish.”

While several companies have objected to the updated policy and some safety advocates have voiced concern over the safety surrounding the guidelines, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does not have the ability to put the brakes on the DOT’s broadened authority. Still, most groups have been supportive of the DOT’s decisions for the plan and hope for a structured way of testing driverless vehicles that will stay up-to-date with constantly developing technology.

Two bipartisan bills to combat human trafficking by Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty was signed into law on January 8th, 2018. New, tougher penalties for truckers were implemented to continue efforts to prevent human trafficking in the United States.

The No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act disqualifies any individual from using their commercial driver’s license for life if they are found to have committed a felony involving human trafficking. The Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act focuses on human trafficking prevention and designates a specific prevention coordinator at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and will increase outreach, reporting efforts, and education at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Reserves will be given to CDL schools to implement anti-trafficking education. Truckers Against Trafficking, Owner-Operator Independents Drivers Association (OOIDA), National District Attorneys Association, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), and ECPAT-USA all support the bill.

Esty said “I’m proud that we were able to turn bipartisan proposals to protect Americans threatened by the horrible and inhumane crime of human trafficking into reality” and that “Our truckers are our eyes and ears on the road, which is why they’re often the best positioned to see when trafficking activities are occurring and report them to the authorities.”

More than 20 million women, children, and men are oppressed by forced labor and sex trafficking worldwide with more than 300,000 children trafficked in the U.S. annually reports the International Labor Organization.

Worldwide, factories are concerned that they cannot keep up with the mounting needs of the global economy. Manufacturers are finding it difficult to supply the demand and if the economy continues to upsurge, prices of goods may go up. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are predicting global growth around 4% - the fastest growth since March, seven years ago post-recession

A number of Purchasing Managers’ Indexes published last week from China, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France all show substantial supply constraints. Companies are expecting the need to hire or invest more which may cause a price hike, propelling inflation, due to the increase in production.

China’s overall economic growth is slated to slow throughout the year after heavy acceleration as it faces financial stability, pollution, and poverty. Asia overall is experiencing dips below 50 in December while worldwide, forecasts are to expand 3.7% over the year. In 2017 the estimated growth was for 3.6% according to the International Monetary Fund’s projections.

The National Association of Manufacturers reported that “94.6 percent of manufacturers felt either somewhat or very positive about their company’s outlook, with sales and capital spending expectations both at six-year highs. In addition, respondents predicted 1.4 percent growth in exports over the next 12 months, up from 1.3 percent in the previous survey and the highest rate since the second quarter of 2014.”

Samantha Duncan has the desire to help others in her blood- and the people she works with recognize that in her. Samantha’s ability to work well with everyone she meets in various situations has made her a strong asset that Centerline continues to appreciate, year after year.

An inspiration on many levels for Samantha is her mother, Susie Puig, who is a veteran in the staffing business and helped Samantha kick start her career in the industry. From the time in her early years at school when Samantha would join Susie at the office to a young adult where she started as a salesperson in Ft. Lauderdale, Samantha has gotten a behind-the-scenes look into the staffing world for years. After nine years of working with her mother in West Palm Beach, Samantha was aching for a change of scenery. She moved on to a few other positions where she continued to flex her staffing muscles and built up her experience. During this season, she even got to work alongside Mike Rowe, host of the popular television show Dirty Jobs.

When Samantha became familiar with Centerline, she knew it was a company she wanted to be part of. She sensed the impact she could make by helping drivers find work and saw the dedication of her potential teammates in making a difference. She interviewed at Centerline three times for different roles and although timing wasn’t right, everything panned out well for all parties and heard through the grapevine that PeopleReady (then, LaborReady) was on the hunt for a salesperson for CDL. She met with Paul Nilson and was immediately welcomed into the company.

Now, Samantha splits her time between the office, working in the field (she covers three counties: West Palm Beach, Browers County, and Miami-Dade), and spending time with customers. Additionally, she’ll meet with drivers on site to ensure their first day runs smoothly and that a strong match has been made for both the customer and driver.

A natural and self-described introvert, Samantha is sometimes surprised at her ability to sink into her role in sales so well. She has nerves before some meetings and while the tensions do come and go, she prefers meeting with people face-to-face rather than calling on the phone. It can be vulnerable, but she believes in the people supporting her and the service she is selling. Samantha reminds herself that anyone she meets for the first time doesn’t know her and that she has nothing to be afraid of: once she connects with someone, it’s a wonderful thing. She relishes in the ability to fulfill the needs of the people she works with on each side and is happy when they are happy.

Samantha knows that what she does has true value. Particularly with the driver shortage, she understands that helping a company staff is an important resource that streamlines the process of finding candidates that might have otherwise been much more difficult through organic means. She’ll stop at nothing to find a solution to a problem and those around her have found that enthusiasm to be an all-star quality in Samantha. She loves working with her “little family” at Centerline, Victoria Salamanca and Julian Montoya, knowing they can always band together to meet their goals.

While a bonafide hard worker at heart, Samantha still makes time for play. She spends quality time with her close friends whom she met in a roller derby league. She enjoys downtime with her two dogs Calvin Lee and Lucas- two more furry friends who can attest to Samantha’s never-ending willingness to help, go above and beyond, and be a beacon for the people around her.

“Samantha...made the whole process of finding a great driver easy, especially since we are located in Orlando and needed the driver in Miami. Thank you.”
- Centerline Customer

The U.S. Department of Transportation has officially released an extension allowing livestock and other agricultural cargo to operate without electronic logging devices until March 18, 2018. The reprieve has not yet been published in the Federal Register but can be found on the DOT’s website.

The ELD mandate was put into effect December 18th and exempt livestock drivers will receive 90 days to comply. During this time, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will also review additional exemption requests from the agriculture industry. The waiver includes all drivers hauling “any agricultural commodity, non-processed food, feed, fiber, or livestock” including “…cattle, elk, reindeer, bison, horses, deer, sheep, goats, swine, poultry (including egg-producing poultry), fish used for food and other animals designated…that are part of a foundation herd or offspring.”

Drivers operating under the waiver are required to have a copy of the waiver with them while driving and must notify the FMCSA within five business days if they are involved in a crash and explain details of the crash along with their driving day.

The agency is also taking comments from industry stakeholders for thirty days after the exemption publication on whether livestock sale barns and grain elevators should be considered a source of agricultural merchandise. The FMCSA says “While these facilities are originating points for many agricultural commodity loads, they are not expressly encompassed within the statutory or regulatory terminology of the exception.”

The cloud has been hanging over our heads for some time now, and the trucking industry is getting on board with the service more than ever. As innovative technologies continue to flood the marketplace, some of us may be stuck asking the question, “What is cloud computing?” The definition varies: sometimes a software-as-a-service (SAAS) offering and other times where data is accessible as a Web page. The most general understanding of the cloud surrounds the servers and storage that cloud computing offers. In short, cloud computing can be summed up as “the use of hardware, software, storage and computing infrastructures over a network that is housed and operated by a third party”, according to Trucking Info.

Constantly evolving technology is being implemented in the trucking industry as carriers find the operational productivity and savings that the cloud can provide. Using remote servers hosted on the internet to store and process data is well-known to Millennials highly connected to their digital devices and as the business landscape shifts, more companies are getting on board with the service.

Some pros of cloud computing include real-time information, ease of access, and ease of implementation. The ability to choose products a la carte to utilize in the cloud are an attractive feature that fleets are taking advantage of- whether specific functions such as email or enterprise-level applications. Additionally, the delivery technology gives responsibility of data to a third party while giving flexibility to fleets. New technologies can be implemented into a fleet with extremely low to zero infrastructure cost pertaining to IT, maintenance, memory space, and computer software expertise.

While the cloud may not be suitable for all fleets, many are exploring the opportunity to utilize this technology to their advantage toward cost, time, and general efficiency.

The ELD mandate is put into effect in less than two weeks and electronic logging devices (ELDs) are sweeping the market. More than 220 ELDs were listed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) online registry as of December 1st. Each of these ELDs listed are required to meet FMCSA standards: they must conform to technical specifications, be self-certified as compliant by the provider, and registered with the FMCSA.

The listed devices include portable ELDs and mobile devices. If for any reason the FMCSA finds that an ELD listed on their website does not comply with their requirements, they may initiate removal of the ELD model or version from the list after providing written notice to the ELD provider and will alert the industry through website announcements and additional communications.

Bear in mind that some ELDs listed on the registry are developed by the same company. If this company’s standards do not meet requirements, a number of ELDs may be obligated for removal. After Phase 2 of the FMCSA’s Phased-In Compliance Phase comes Full Compliance Phase on December 16th, 2019 where all drivers and carriers will be subject to the rule that they must use self-certified ELDs, registered with the FMCSA.

Sheila is recognized both within the Centerline family and out for her perseverance, allegiance to a job well-done, belief that everything happens for a reason, and ensuring that she goes above and beyond for all she encounters. There’s rarely a dull moment in Sheila’s day and she likes it that way: she loves her family and work and it is apparent.

While Sheila is a jack-of-all-trades, she focuses mainly on the Mobile Drivers division. Mobile works with National Accounts and offers the fantastic ease of taking approved drivers countrywide and putting them to work. This service, unparalleled in the industry, allows drivers interested in flying and traveling the ability to work in a different area for a period of time and gives them the adventure of working on the road. Centerline provides drivers with choices and Sheila says “they have options to switch: once their commitment is done, they can go back and forth from mobile to local and vice versa.”

Sheila and her team take the time it takes to get to know drivers well. She says she wants to know who each driver is and “what makes you happy” and that “we want to know what your goal is”. The Mobile team does their best in ensuring they are creating strong partnerships for both the driver and the customer. This includes paying attention to special days for drivers such as birthdays and anniversaries and taking those days into account when placing a driver for a job: a call will always be made beforehand to confirm that a job works for the driver’s schedule. They have helped change the lives of over 400 drivers and currently have over 100 mobile drivers working across 48 states. The Mobile division is blowing expectations out of the water and continues to grow daily; the industry has clearly been waiting for something like this.

Sheila has seen Centerline change over the past seventeen years with the company. She explains that a majority of those shifts have been through Jill’s vision and willingness to do what it takes to make success happen. Sheila admires Jill’s ability to keep pushing forward and lists her as an encouragement and person whom she looks up to greatly. She appreciates the support and care from a number of people who help her and the Mobile team daily: Annie St. John, Veronica Martinez, Kathy Mazzio, Leonard Holman, Sandrine Steaffens, Rod Crowell, Hali Tesler, and more including Account Managers, Recruiting Managers, and the teams from Service, Payroll, and Compliance. Her children are an incredibly important part of her life and everything she does, she does for her inspiring children. Needless to say, all listed above and more have themselves experienced Sheila’s unwavering perseverance and strength.

When Sheila isn’t breaking company records, she enjoys good old-fashioned retail therapy, taking time to get away for vacation and disconnect where she’ll soak up time with family, and on occasion- treat herself to In N Out Animal Style fries. Heavy emphasis on Animal Style! Each person that Sheila comes across experiences true care and we are so very lucky to have such an incredible person as part of our lives.